The F word
Just watching the first of the new series of The F Word. On one level, I should hate this: Gordon Ramsay's vulgar, celebrity-obsessed approach combines with a slice of The Generation Game (watching members of the public embarass themselves) to make entertainment that's perfect for for the ADHD generation. But on another level, it's drawing people into food, which somehow manages to stay at the centre of this program. If I'm being honest, I enjoy watching it, and Gordon is brilliant at doing TV. It works. You can watch this and enjoy it even if you have little interest in food, but by watching it you might begin to develop such an interest. This is the food equivalent of Top Gear, which my wife watches even though she has no interest in motors. I wonder if anyone could ever do the same sort of thing with wine?
posted by Jamie @ 10:27 PM
5 comments
links to this post
5 Comments:
Jilly Goulden, Keith Floyd, Oz Clarke and Delia "let's be 'avin' you" Smith have all tried and mostly failed. But they are all better, smoother and more reserved than Gary Vay-Ner-Chuck, let's keep it English eh?
Yes Alastair - I guess the problem with wine has been the lack of the visual hook, and also the fact that people generally know far less about wine than they do about food, and are scared of wine.
The closest thing I have seen is probably The Thirsty Traveler. Its not solely focused on wine, which I think is a good thing, and its not so overly snobbish that the average drinker will be turned off. Yes, it is quite a bit more basic than many experienced wine drinkers would want, but then that audience is pretty small at least in terms of supporting a profitable TV show.
These types of shows do need a bit of the Top Gear recipe; the irreverence of a Clarkson, the enthusiasm of a Hammond and the nerdiness (is that a word) of a May.
Mike
Brilliant suggestion by Mike. Three experts with different styles/viewpoints so viewers can get a more rounded perpestive. Plus the entertainment value of their interaction. Preferably make it location based.
Or what about a Floyd style programme - travelling a country, different regions each week. I can see it now, several series, "Goode on Spain", "Goode on Italy", "Goode on France"... Are you up for it Jamie?
Just to add further to the idea of a Top Gear wine show. One does exist, I think. Its a BBC program that I haven't seen here in the US so I'm not sure if it is still current. That said, Oz Clarke and Top Gear co-host James May have a show called Big Wine Adventure in which Clarke tries to improve May's appreciation of wine. It looks as though its in its second season. It would be nice if a DVD was available for the US!
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home